Thursday, September 27, 2012

Slick Rick is my hero. Seriously one of the artists who solidified my love of Hip-Hop. From his records with Doug E Fresh ("The Show" & "La-Di-Da-Di") to his ultra classic solo debut The Great Adventures Of Slick Rick it was clear that MC Ricky D was a cut above the rest when it came to story telling rap. Fuck it, when it came to rapping in general. When he caught the charges that landed him in jail I felt that shit. Everything that he recorded since couldn't compare to his original body of work. The free Slick Rick music was exactly what Rick wanted to put out, while the "Free Slick Rick" music was mostly the record labels versions of rushed music he recorded before he went to jail. "Behind Bars" was one of those songs. The world got the Warren G version of the record which was cool, but it has Def Jam's fingerprints all over it. This is the original version that Slick Rick and Prince Paul recorded that until recently could only be found in a pile of old reels that Paul had locked away. Big up Prince Paul for liberating the original version of "Behind Bars" (as well as a bunch of other treats from the early '90s that you can check HERE). To keep the whole Behind Bars theme going, above is a news piece that aired in 1994 about Rick's incarceration, and below similar piece that aired in '95.

This doc is worth every minute of the hour + of your life it will consume watching it. VH1's The World's Most Dangerous Group is the story of N.W.A. It's been around for a minute but if you haven't checked it then do so. Immediately!

This one came via Flipout, who is apparently too damn lazy to post anything on his own. Regardless, this shit is dope. Fresh Fest '85 covered by Video Music Box. For those that are unaware, this is the first arena tour that Hip-Hop ever saw. Classic as classic gets.

Ricky Powell is that dude. From rolling with the Beastie Boys in the 80's and 90's, too being on hand to document the golden years of Hip-Hop through his photography, to bugging' out on his cult TV show Rollin With The Rickster, Ricky is Hip-Hop through and through. The Uncle Funky - Ricky Powell Documentary captures all that and then some. Dude is a character (For real, I've been to his crib, trippy. Another story for another day).

Sunday, September 23, 2012

What we have here is footage of the Elektra Records "Hard To The Left" party that took place Dec 10th, 1990! The party features performance from the labels Hip-Hop roster including KMD, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Leaders of the New School, and Brand Nubian. This is an industry party by the looks of it because the audience seems too cool to let loose, plus ATCQ, De La Soul, Funk Flex, Nice & Smooth, Run DMC, and a bunch of other rappers are all in the building. Basically a NYC record label party from the golden era of Hip-Hop! Big up DJ Iran for bringing this to the surface.